Grain-door.



R. B. & I. G. GATTON.

GRAIN DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED DBO.1B, 190s.

Patented Oct. 11, 1910.

2 SHEBTS-SHBET 1.

[I I All! III III II ma'wiiow 15%? C. Cafzon, an? 1153;17- Caz'zon.

FATENT @FFTQE.

REDS B. CATTON AND IRA CATTON, OF BRIMFIELD, ILLINOIS.

seam-noon.

' To all whom-ii mag concern:

Be it known that we, Ra e B. GATJJON and Ira G-rrron. citizens of the United States, residing at Brinilield, in the county of Peoria and State of lrllinois. have iii-- vented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Doors, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the'acconipanying drawing.

nThis invention relates to grain-car doors, and has for its object to provide an improved zgraiu-car door composed of interlocking sections, which may be opened independently to facilitate the loading or unloading of the car. i

In carrying out the object of the invention generally stated above it will, of course, be understood that the essential features thereof are susceptible of changes in details and structural arrangements, but a preferred and practical embodiment of the same is shown in the accompanying drawings wherein- 1 Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of the interior of a car showing the same equipped with the improved door. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the eXt-eriorof a car. Fig. 3 is a longitudinalsectional view of a car showing the door sections in an open condition. F 1 is a'vertical sectional view taken on the line t-el, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a similar view takenon the line 5-4) of Fig. 2, but viewed from the interior ofthe car. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective View of the slide for the supplemental opening of one of the sections of the door. Fig. -7 is a detail sectional view of a portion of one of the upper sections of the door showing the hinge connection between the same and the door frame.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of thedrawings.

Referring to the said drawings, 1 designates the side walls of a car, 2 the floor, and 2 the door frame, all of which are of the usual construction common to the well known box cars.

The improved interior door for the car consists of a plurality of metal sections, the lower one 3 of which has one of its lower corners pivot-ally connect-ed with an angular bracket 4 carried by the floor. 2 of the car adjacent to one side of the door frame 2 Said section 3 hasits body provided with a plurality of regularly spaced apart Specification of Letters Tatent.

l l 1 l Patented Oct. 1 1, 1910.

Application filed Eeesniber 18, 1908. Serial No. 468.133.

strengthening crimps or corrugations 5 and is held in a closed position by means of a spring latch or keeper 3 carried by the door frame intermediate of its longitudinal length and which has a slidable cngagement between two spaced apart fastening loops 7. Said latch or keeper is preferably provided with an outstanding portion 8 formed by crimping its body, said outstanding portion forming a stop which engages with one or the other of said loops 7 to lnnit the locking or unlocking movement of the latch. The

.door frame is also provided at its lower corner with an; angular strap 9 the free end of which engages with the lower edge of said section to assist in retaining said section in a closed position, in an obv ous manner. The lower portion of the sectlon 3,

between the first two strengthening ribs 'or.

corrugations, is provided with an elongated, horizontally extending opening 10, the upper and lower edges on their interior sides being provided with a bracing strip or strips 11 and overhanging guide strips lQ, which project well beyond both ends of said slot,

serve to retain between them a sliding door 13 provided with an operating handle or knobfilet that proj cts beyond said opening, so that said door may beopened or closed from the exterior of the car. The section 3 is also provided with a hand grip 15 at its upper portion which facilitates the opening or' closing of said section. To open said as shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 3, and

section 3, it is thrown back on its pivotal connection with the floor of the door, until its side edge rests on the said floor, as shown in' Fig. 3. Normally the connection of said section will be sufficient to retain said section in its open position, but as an addi tional safeguard,tl1e side of the car may be provided with a spring which one portion of said section passes when thrown to its open position.

The upper edge of the section 3 is provided with an outstanding integral reinforced tongue 17 which has an interlocking engagen'ient with a groove 18 of an intermediate door section 19. Said sectlon 19 is alsoprovided with a strengthening rib or corrugation 21 and has one of its ends outturned to form pivot cars 22 WhlCh engage with a hinge pin of a hinge leaf 24-, carried by the door frame on the side opposite to that which carries the hinge connection for the lower section 3. The said intermediloop 16 beneath ate door section 19 has its upper edgeproi videdwith an outstanding integral tongue 25 similar to the one shown on the upper edge of the section 3, and which is engaged by a groove 26 on the lower edge of an upper doorsection 27, said engagement beingan interlocking one similar to the inter- I locking engagement between the section 3 hook, 30 is connected, and which and the section 19. The section 27 also has its end outturned to form hinge ears 28 for pivotal engagement with the hinge pin 23 of the leaf hinge 24,- referred to above.

Both the upper section and the intermediate section have their inner'sides provided with a latch carrying loop 29 which may be formed by slitting the material of which they are formed and bending the same outwardly, with which the eye of a latch, or is adapted to engage-with a keeper or eye 31 carried by the door frame. The lower section 3 may also be rovided with a loop 32 that is formed in the body thereof in the same ones, which close all meeting edges.

manner as the loops of the other ,two sec tions are formed, and'which is engaged by a hook or latch 33 carried by the door frame.

It will be understood from the fore oing that when the door-sections are in the 'c osed position thereis no danger of any of the grain leaking from the car, as" all connectionsbetween the sections are interlocking d it will also be seen that as all of the sections have an independent hinge connection with a the car, they may be closed one at a time as the car is gradually loaded. To unload the car, the upper section is thrown to the position shown in Fig. l, which permits the upper part of. the grain to be removed.

Then the intermediate section is opened,and

finally the lower section is opened.

, single piece of metal the same may first leaf when The door carried-by the lower section may be used for sampling purposes, as has been heretofore state or it may be used to dis charge the grain from the car in limited quantities, or it'may be used to relieve the pressure of the grain from the .door before the. uppersection i's-opened.- I

As has been before stated, the door sections are of metal each section being preferably formed from a single sheet, and operated on by a shaping machine to ,form the desired strengthening ribs or corrugations and also to form the end pivot ears. It will be seen that by forming thesections from a so far as a bearing is provided between the ed es of said leaves and the first mentione leaf locked from opening bythe closing of the second lea'if.

In testunony. whereof we hereunto afiix' ourlsignatures in presence of two witnesses.

' RADO' B'. CATTON.

IRA G. CATTON.

Witnesses: i

CHAS. L. DUNGAN, HENRY P. Tum-v be pro-- 1 so described, the comand a second-sheet-metal leaf pivoted the door is closed, whereby 

